Tracking playing cards during game play using rfid tags

ABSTRACT

A system having a radio-frequency-identification (RFID) tag reader and a camera to map playing cards to RFID tag values. Each card is inserted into a sleeve that has an RFID tag. During or after insertion of a card into a sleeve, the camera captures an image of the card and the RFID reader captures an RFID tag value for the sleeve. The identity of the card is then determined from the captured image and mapped to the RFID tag value. This mapping information is generated for each card-sleeve pair in a card deck and utilized to track the movement of the cards during game play. The RFID tag value of each card-sleeve pair in the card deck is captured before and after a player draws a card from the deck. The missing RFID tag values are compared to the mapping information to identify which cards where drawn by the player.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the mapping and tracking ofphysical playing cards during game play utilizing radio frequencyidentification tags.

BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art

Televising poker tournaments, trading card game tournaments, or othercard games have grown in popularity over the past few years. Duringthese televised events, players draw, or are dealt, one or more playingcards face down. Commentators for the event can then provide informationor discuss different strategies and options available to the playersbased on the cards in their particular hand, as well as the cards inopposing players' hands. But to provide accurate or real-timeinformation, the commentators need to know what cards are in eachplayer's hand.

Typically, when a player picks up or views his or her cards, they directthe playing face of the cards towards a camera. The commentators canthen view captured images of the cards to provide relevant informationto the televised audience. The use of cameras also allows the televisedaudience to view the playing cards as they are viewed by the players.Such cameras can be placed under the playing surface or in an arm restnear each player so as to capture images of the cards when the playerlifts the cards to see which cards he or she was dealt. However, camerashave many disadvantages. For example, a player can use his or her handto completely block the camera from capturing images of the cards. Asanother example, the camera may capture an image of only a portion ofthe cards, which, in more complex card games, may not include enoughinformation to allow the commentators to know which cards the player isholding. It is with respect to these and other considerations that theembodiments described herein have been made.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments are directed towards a system that includes aradio-frequency-identification (RFID) tag reader and a camera to mapplaying cards to RFID tag values. Each playing card is physicallyassociated with an RFID tag and the camera captures an image of theplaying card and the RFID reader captures an RFID tag value from theRFID tag. The identity of the playing card is then determined from thecaptured image and mapped to the RFID tag value and stored in a memory.This mapping information is generated for each playing card in a deck ofcards. As the card deck is being utilized during game play, the RFID tagvalue associated with each playing card in the card deck is capturedbefore and after a player draws a playing card from the deck. Themissing RFID tag values are compared to the mapping information toidentify which playing cards were drawn by the player. By capturing RFIDtag values for all cards in the deck before and after a playing card isdrawn from a deck of cards, the identity of playing cards that have beenplayed or discarded can be known and stored in the memory. In addition,the identity of each card at any one time within a player's hand can bedetermined without using a camera to capture images of the user's handitself. This process improves the accuracy in determining thedistribution of playing cards during game play and the generation ofreal-time strategy information related to the game.

In some embodiments, the RFID tag is affixed to a sleeve in which aplaying card is inserted. The combined sleeve and card may be referredto as a card-sleeve pair. As the playing card is being inserted into thesleeve, or after the card is inserted into the sleeve, the cameracaptures images of the playing card and the RFID reader captures RFIDtag values from the RFID tag affixed to the sleeve. One or more imageprocessing techniques are performed on the captured image to determinethe playing card's identity from the captured image. A mapping betweenthe RFID tag value of the sleeve and the card's identity are stored foreach card-sleeve pair, which creates a digital association between thecard and the RFID tag. Because the playing cards may be inserted intothe RFID tagged sleeves in any order, utilization of the RFID taggedsleeves adds randomness to the mapping between playing cards and RFIDtag values, which decreases the likelihood that a player cansurreptitiously identify cards from the RFID tags.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with referenceto the following drawings. In the drawings, like reference numeralsrefer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwisespecified.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference will bemade to the following Detailed Description, which is to be read inassociation with the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate context diagrams of environments where playingcards are paired with sleeves permitting the playing cards to be mappedwith RFID tag values associated with the sleeves in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the components utilized intracking playing cards with RFID tags in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein;

FIG. 3 illustrates a context diagram of an environment in which RFID tagvalues are utilized to track mapped card-sleeve pairs during the playingof a card game in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for mapping playing cards with sleeves thatinclude RFID tags in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 5 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of an alternative process for mapping playing cards withsleeves that include RFID tags in accordance with embodiments describedherein;

FIG. 6 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for utilizing RFID tagged cards to track cardmovement throughout a card game in accordance with embodiments describedherein;

FIG. 7 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing anotherembodiment of a process for utilizing RFID tagged cards to track cardmovement throughout a card game in accordance with embodiments describedherein;

FIG. 8 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process for generating a list of playing cards in adeck; and

FIG. 9 shows a system diagram that describes one implementation ofcomputing systems for implementing embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description, along with the accompanying drawings, setsforth certain specific details in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various disclosed embodiments. However, one skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that the disclosed embodiments may bepracticed in various combinations, without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, devices, materials, etc. Inother instances, well-known structures or components that are associatedwith the environment of the present disclosure, including but notlimited to the communication systems and networks, have not been shownor described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions ofthe embodiments. Additionally, the various embodiments may be methods,systems, media, or devices. Accordingly, the various embodiments may beentirely hardware embodiments, entirely software embodiments, orembodiments combining software and hardware aspects.

Throughout the specification, claims, and drawings, the following termstake the meaning explicitly associated herein, unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. The term “herein” refers to thespecification, claims, and drawings associated with the currentapplication. The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in another embodiment,”“in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in other embodiments,”and other variations thereof refer to one or more features, structures,functions, limitations, or characteristics of the present disclosure,and are not limited to the same or different embodiments unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, the term “or” is aninclusive “or” operator, and is equivalent to the phrases “A or B, orboth” or “A or B or C, or any combination thereof,” and lists withadditional elements are similarly treated. The term “based on” is notexclusive and allows for being based on additional features, functions,aspects, or limitations not described, unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. In addition, throughout the specification, themeaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include singular and plural references.

FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate context diagrams of environments that utilizeradio-frequency-identification (RFID) tags to track playing cards inaccordance with embodiments described herein. FIG. 1A illustrates anenvironment 100A where a user 118 is inserting playing cards 124 intocorresponding sleeves 120. The environment 100A includes a table 116, acomputing device 104, a camera 114, and an RFID reader 110. In someembodiments, the RFID reader 110 may be embedded or built into the table116. In other embodiments, the RFID reader 110 may be positioned on topof the table 116 in front of the user 118.

Briefly, the user 118 removes a playing card 124 b from a stack ofplaying cards 124 a and a sleeve 120 b from a stack of sleeves 120 a.Each sleeve 120 is sized and shaped to fit around a playing card 124. Insome embodiments, the sleeve 120 opens at one end to allow the playingcard 124 to slide into and be encased in the sleeve 120. In general, thesleeves 120 include a transparent side and an opaque side. Thetransparent side allows a player to see the playing face of the insertedplaying card 124. And the opaque side prevents players from seeing theback side of the inserted playing card 124 (e.g., to hinder a player'sability to view markings or other identifying information on a back sideof the playing card that can give away the actual identify of theplaying card).

The user 118 inserts the playing card 124 b into the sleeve 120 b tocreate a card-sleeve pair. Moreover, each sleeve 120 has an RFID tag(not illustrated) affixed thereto, which is illustrated in FIG. 1B. EachRFID tag is configured to transmit or send a unique RFID tag value inresponse to receiving an interrogation signal from the RFID reader 110.The RFID tag value may also be referred to as an RFID tag number, RFIDtag identifier, or RFID tag ID. The RFID tags allow for each sleeve 120to be uniquely identifiable from the RFID tag value. In someembodiments, the RFID tag value of the RFID tag affixed to a sleeve maybe referred to as the RFID tag value of the sleeve.

As the playing card 124 b is being inserted into the sleeve 120 b, thecamera 114 captures one or more images of the playing card 124 b and theRFID reader 110 captures the RFID tag value associated with the sleeve120 b. After capturing the images and RFID tag value, the camera 114 andthe RFID reader 110 provide the captured images and RFID tag value tothe computing device 104. The computing device 104 employs imagerecognition techniques on the images to identify the playing card 124 b.In various embodiments, the computing device stores an image oridentifiable information for each of a plurality of possible playingcards 124. The computing device can then compare the captured image tothe stored images such that a match identifies the particular card 124 bin the image captured by the camera 114. In some embodiments, theparticularly identified card may be referenced by a name, number, orother label.

Once the playing card 124 b is identified, its referenced identity(e.g., a card name or identification number) is mapped to the capturedRFID tag value of the sleeve 120 b. This card-sleeve pair mapping isstored in a table, database, or other data structure. The user 118 cancreate a card deck containing a plurality of card-sleeve pairs bycontinuing to insert the playing cards 124 into the sleeves 120. As eachcorresponding card-sleeve pair is created, the computing device 104 mapsthe corresponding card's identity to the corresponding sleeve RFID tagvalue for the corresponding card-sleeve pair using the images capturedby the camera 114 and the RFID tag values captured by the RFID reader110. The mapping information for each card-sleeve pair in a deck ofcards may be referred to as the card deck mapping information. Onenon-limiting example of the mapping or association between playing card124 b and sleeve 120 b may be “Tag Value 0x00120423” is associated withcard “Blagatortoise EX card 143 from Wind Water set 2” in the deck ofplayer Bob Jones.

In some embodiments, the card-sleeve pair mapping may not be between theidentified playing card and the RFID tag value associated with a sleeve,rather the RFID tag value may be modified to be the identity of theplaying card. Referring to the example above, the “Tag Value 0x00120423”may be modified or overwritten to be “Bob Jones—Blagatortoise EX card143 from Wind Water set 2.” In this way, the identity of the playingcard can be determined from the outputted RFID tag value captured by theRFID reader, rather than accessing a separate mapping database. In someembodiments, the RFID tag of a sleeve may be modified after the playingcard is paired with the sleeve and the identity of the playing carddetermined. In various embodiments, these RFID tags may be rewritable,which allows for the RFID tags to be set to output different RFID tagvalues based on the playing cards inserted therein. In this way, theRFID tag values are specific to the cards inserted therein, which canchange from one card game to another when the sleeves are reused andseparate or different playing cards are inserted therein.

FIG. 1B provides additional details of the card-sleeve insertionprocess. Similar to environment 100A in FIG. 1A, environment 100Bincludes a camera 114 and an RFID reader 110. As mentioned above, thesleeve 120 includes or has an affixed RFID tag 128. The RFID tag 128 maybe affixed to the sleeve 120 by being built into the sleeve 120, stuckonto a portion of the sleeve 120 (e.g., similar to a sticker), orotherwise attached to the sleeve 120. In some embodiments, the RFID tag128 is affixed to the sleeve 120 during manufacturing of the sleeve 120.In other embodiments, the RFID tag 128 is affixed to the sleeve 120after manufacturing, such as by the user 118 in FIG. 1A.

The RFID tag 128 includes an antenna 132 and a chip 130. The chip 130captures, via the antenna 132, interrogation signals transmitted by theRFID reader 110. Once energized, the chip 130 transmits itscorresponding RFID tag value via antenna 132, which is captured by theRFID reader 110. In this way, a unique identifier is associated with thesleeve 120 (i.e., the RFID tag value of the RFID tag 128).

The camera 114 captures images of a playing face of the playing card124. As mentioned above, image processing techniques may be employed onthe images to identify the playing card 124. In the illustrated example,the playing card 124 includes a header 134 and a graphic 136. The imagerecognition process may be configured to analyze the captured image foran outline or shape of the playing card 124, the header 134, the graphic136, or a combination thereof to identify the playing card 124. Itshould be recognized that different playing cards have differentcharacteristics. Thus, the image recognition process may be configuredto look for text, symbols, logos, icons, graphics, colors, numbers, orother identifying marks on the playing card 124.

In various embodiments, the camera 114 may capture images of the playingcard 124 as the playing card 124 is being inserted into the sleeve 120or after the playing card 124 is fully inserted into the sleeve 120.Likewise, the RFID reader 110 may capture an RFID tag value for thesleeve 120 from the RFID tag 128 as the playing card 124 is beinginserted into the sleeve 120 or after the playing card 124 is fullyinserted into the sleeve 120. The camera 114 and the RFID reader 110 maybe synchronized to capture the respective images and RFID tag value at asame time or within a selected threshold time of one another.

Although FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate the generation of the card-sleeve pairsas being performed by a person, embodiments are not so limited. Forexample a mechanical device can be utilized to insert the playing cardinto the sleeve. Such a device may include a mechanism for opening thesleeve, such as blown air, arms that enter the sleeve and then moveopposite one another to open the sleeve, or other opening mechanism, anda mechanism for sliding the card into an opened sleeve, such as asliding arm that pushes the card into the sleeve, positioning of thesleeve and card to allow gravity to pull the card into the sleeve, orother mechanisms. The timing of capturing images of the playing card andcapturing RFID tag values associated with a sleeve may be correlated tothe mechanical device's insertion of the card into the sleeve. Thus, theuse of a mechanical device can automate the process of inserting cardsinto sleeves, while also increasing the accuracy and timing of thecamera capturing images of the card.

Moreover, as mentioned herein, the RFID tag 128 may be rewritable, suchthat the information transmitted by the RFID tag 128 in response to aninterrogation signal is the information that identifies the playing card124. In at least one such embodiment, the environment 100B may alsoinclude an RFID writer (not shown) to modify the RFID tag valueassociated with the RFID tag 128 after the playing card 124 isidentified (e.g., via image recognition techniques employed on images ofthe playing card 124 captured by camera 114). In yet other embodiments,a user may manually input or select an identity of the playing card 124via a graphical user interface, which can then be mapped to the RFID tagvalue or written onto the RFID tag 120.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the components utilized intracking playing cards with RFID tags in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein. Example 200 includes computing device 104, camera 114,and RFID reader 110. The computing device 104 sends an image request tothe camera 114. The camera 114 captures an image of the card 124 basedon the request and returns the captured image to the computing device104. The computing device 104 also sends an RFID tag ID request to theRFID reader 110. The RFID reader 110 includes an RFID transmitter 146,which transmits interrogation signals. An RFID tag 128 on the sleeve 120receives the interrogation signals and responds with the tag's value orID. An RFID receiver 148 on the RFID reader 110 receives the RFID tagvalue from the RFID tag 128. The RFID reader 110 then sends the RFID tagvalue to the computing device 104. In some embodiments, the imagerequest and the RFID tag ID request includes timing information tosynchronize or coordinate the capturing of the image with the capture ofthe RFID tag value associated with the sleeve 120.

FIG. 3 illustrates a context diagram of an environment 300 in which RFIDtag values are utilized to track mapped card-sleeve pairs during theplaying of a card game in accordance with embodiments described herein.Environment 300 includes a table 138, a camera 114, and a computingdevice 104. In some embodiments, the camera 114 may be optional and maynot be included.

In general, one or more users or players create one or more card decks,each having a plurality of card-sleeve pairs. Each card-sleeve pair maybe generated using embodiments described herein to map a card to an RFIDtag value of a sleeve of a corresponding card-sleeve pair, such asdiscussed above in FIGS. 1A-1B and FIG. 2. In this way, each deck ofcards includes corresponding card-sleeve pair mapping information, asdescribed herein.

After the card decks are created, the players may engage in playing acard game. In the illustrated example, the card game is played on atable 138. The table 138 is illustrated as having a Player_A side 160and Player_B side 162.

The Player_A side 160 includes a deal area 152 a and a playing area 144a. The deal area 152 a is a position on the table 138 in which Player_Amaintains his or her draw pile or deck of cards 140 that includes aplurality of card-sleeve pairs (the computing device 104 already havingstored thereon the card-sleeve mapping information for each card-sleevepair in the deck of cards 140).

The deal area 152 a includes an RFID transmitter 146 a and an RFIDreceiver 148 a. The deck of cards 140 is positioned adjacent to the RFIDtransmitter 146 a and the RFID receiver 148 a. In this illustration, thedeck of cards 140 is positioned on top of the RFID receiver 148 a andnext to the RFID transmitter 146 a. The positioning of the RFIDtransmitter 146 a is in a vertical arrangement so as to transmitinterrogation signals horizontally or orthogonal to the direction inwhich the deck of cards 140 are stacked. This vertical arrangementimproves the propagation of the interrogation signals through the deckof cards 140. In other embodiments, not illustrated, the RFIDtransmitter 146 a and the RFID receiver 148 a may be in differentpositions or configurations from what is shown or they may be integratedinto a single housing (not shown).

The playing area 144 a is a position on the table 138 in which Player_Aplaces card-sleeve pairs 142 a-142 c during game play. These card-sleevepairs 142 a-142 c are generally referred to as the cards in play, playedcards, active cards, or other like terminology depending on the cardgame being played.

The Player_B side 162 of the table 138 is similar to the Player_A side160. The Player_B side 161 includes a deal area 152 b and a playing area144 b. The deal area 152 b is a position on the table 138 in whichPlayer_B maintains his or her draw pile or deck of cards 150 thatincludes a plurality of card-sleeve pairs, which are distinct from thecard-sleeve pairs in the deck of cards 140 for Player_A (the computingdevice 104 already having stored thereon the card-sleeve mappinginformation for each card-sleeve pair in the deck of cards 150). Thedeal area 152 b includes an RFID transmitter 146 b and an RFID receiver148 b, similar to the Player_A side 160. The deck of cards 150 ispositioned adjacent to the RFID transmitter 146 b and the RFID receiver148 b. The arrangement and configuration of the RFID transmitter 146 b,the RFID receiver 148 b, and the deck of cards 150 for the Player_B side162 may be similar to or different from the arrangement andconfiguration of the RFID transmitter 146 a, the RFID receiver 148 a,and the deck of cards 140 for the Player_A side 160. Likewise, theplaying area 144 b is a position on the table 138 in which Player_Bplaces card-sleeve pairs 154 a-154 c during game play.

As the card game is being played, players draw playing cards from theirdeck of cards, play cards in their playing area, and may also discardcards into a discard pile (not illustrated). By implementing embodimentsdescribed herein, the computing device 104 can track whether a playingcard is in a player's hand, whether it has been played, or whether thecard has been discarded.

For example, during Player_A's turn, Player_A picks up the card deck140, removes a card-sleeve pair from the deck 140 to include in theirhand, and returns the card deck 140 to deal area 152 a. The RFIDtransmitter 146 a continuously transmit interrogation signals or it maytransmit interrogation signals only when the card deck 140 is positionedin the deal area 152 a (e.g., adjacent to the RFID transmitter 146 a andthe RFID receiver 148 a). In response to receiving the interrogationsignals when the card deck 140 is positioned in the deal area 152 a, theRFID tags associated with each card-sleeve pair in the deck of cards 140transmits is corresponding RFID tag value. A first set of RFID tagvalues associated with each card-sleeve pair in the deck of cards 140 isobtained by the RFID receiver 148 a before Player_A picks up the carddeck 140. And a second set of RFID tag values is then obtained afterPlayer_A returns the card deck 140 to the deal area 152 a. The computingdevice 104 compares to first and second sets of RFID tag values. TheRFID tag value that is in the first set, but not in the second set, isidentified as the card-sleeve pair that was removed from the deck ofcards 140 and placed into Player_A's hand. In some embodiments, multiplecard-sleeve pairs may be removed from the deck of cards 140, whichresults in missing multiple RFID tag values. The missing RFID tag valuesare then compared to the mapping information for the deck of cards 140to identify which card or cards where drawn by Player_A. The identity ofthe card can then be provided to an audience, to commentators, orutilized to generate strategy information associated with the game as itis being played.

Player_B can likewise draw one or more card-sleeve pairs from the deckof cards 150. The computing device 104 identifies which card or cardsare drawn by Player_B's based on the RFID tag values obtained by theRFID receiver 148 b before and after Player_B removes a card-sleeve pairfrom the deck of cards 150 and the mapping information for the deck ofcards 150.

As the card game is being played, Player_A may play a card-sleeve pair142 a into the playing area 144 a. The camera 114 captures images of thetable 138 as card-sleeve pairs are played into the playing area 144 aand provides the images to the computing device 104. The computingdevice 104 analyzes the captured images to identify which particularcards were played, similar to what is described herein for identifying acard when it is paired with a sleeve. In some embodiments, the playingarea 144 a may include an RFID reader that is configured to sendinterrogation signals and receive RFID tag values from RFID tags affixedto the card-sleeve pairs 142 a-142 c when placed in the playing area 144a. The computing device 104 can then utilize the received RFID tagvalues to determine which cards were played based on the RFID tag valueand the card-sleeve pair mapping information for the deck of cards 140.In at least one such embodiment, camera 114 may be optional and may notbe utilized. The identity of the cards being played can then be utilizedto modify the strategy information associated with the game as it isbeing played.

When it is Player_B's turn to play a card, Player_B may do so by placinga card-sleeve pair 154 a into the playing area 144 b. Card-sleeve pairs154 placed into the playing area 144 b may be identified by capturingimages with camera 114 or RFID tag values, similar to what is describedwith respect to card-sleeve pairs played into the playing area 144 a forPlayer_A.

In some embodiments, the table 138 may include discard pile areas (notillustrated) for Player_A and Player_B. Card-sleeve pairs placed intothe discard pile areas may be identified by capturing images with camera114 or RFID tag values, similar to what is described with respect tocard-sleeve pairs played into the playing areas 144 a and 144 b. In atleast one such embodiment, the discard pile areas may include anadditional respective RFID reader (not illustrated) specifically foridentifying card-sleeve pairs placed into the respective discard pile.

In some embodiments, the playing areas 144 a and 144 b do not have RFIDtransmitters and receivers and these are only provided in the respectivedeal areas 152 a and 152 b. Similarly, in some embodiments, the dealareas 152 a and 152 b do not have RFID transmitters and receivers andthese are only provided in the respective playing areas 144 a and 144 b.

Providing the cameras 114 during the game play is optional. Since theidentity of the cards is being determined based on the RFID of thecard-sleeve pairs during game play, a camera is not used in someembodiments.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates the card game as including two players(Player_A and Player_B) and two decks of cards (140 and 150),embodiments are not so limited. Rather, the number of players, thenumber of card decks, and the number of card-sleeve pairs in each deckmay be different from what is illustrated based on the particular typeof card game being played. Likewise, the number and arrangement ofcameras and the number and arrangement of RFID readers may differ fromwhat is illustrated depending on the particular type of card game beingplayed, the number of players, the number of card piles or playing areasin which to track the placement or removal of card-sleeve pairs, etc.

Moreover, although FIG. 3 is described as utilizing decks of card-sleevepairs and their corresponding mapping information, embodiments are notso limited. Rather, in some embodiments, the RFID tags may be affixed tothe playing cards themselves, without the use of a sleeve, and eachplaying card itself has mapping information to its correspondinglyaffixed RFID tag.

The operation of certain aspects of the disclosure will now be describedwith respect to FIGS. 4-8. In at least one of various embodiments,processes 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 described in conjunction withFIGS. 4-8, respectively, may be implemented by or executed on one ormore computing devices, such as computing device 104.

FIG. 4 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process 400 for mapping playing cards with sleeves thatinclude RFID tags in accordance with embodiments described herein.

Process 400 begins, after a start block, at block 402, where one or moreimages are captured of a playing card being inserted into a taggedsleeve. The images are of the playing face of the playing card, i.e.,the informational side of the playing card and not the generic back sideof the playing card.

In some embodiments, the images may be captured as a user is or is aboutto physically insert the playing card into the tagged sleeve or afterthe playing card has been inserted into the sleeve. In at least oneembodiment, a camera may capture images at selected times, at selectedtime intervals (e.g., every 3 seconds), continuously (e.g., multipleconsecutive video frames), or in response to user action or trigger.Examples of such user actions or triggers may include the user pushing abutton when the playing card is in the field of view of the camera, theuser placing the playing card in a particular position on a table (whichcan be identified by an inferred sensor or other detection sensor), thecamera capturing additional images to detect when the user is insertinga playing card into a sleeve, etc.

Process 400 proceeds to block 404, where an RFID tag value of the sleeveis captured. In various embodiments, an RFID tag reader captures RFIDtag vales at selected times, at selected time intervals (e.g., every 3seconds), continuously, or in response to user action or trigger,similar to the images captured in block 402. In some embodiments, thecapturing of the images at block 402 and the capturing of the RFID tagvalues at block 404 are synchronized to occur at the same time orcorrelated to occur within some time period of one another. In this way,an RFID tag value from an RFID affixed to the sleeve is capturedrelative to when an image of a playing card being inserted into thesleeve is captured. In various embodiments, the combination of a cardinserted into a sleeve may be referred to as a card-sleeve pair.

Although process 400 illustrates the capturing of the image of theplaying card before the captured of the RFID tag value, embodiments arenot so limited. And in some embodiments, the capturing of the RFID tagvalue may be before the capturing of the images of the playing card.

Process 400 continues at block 406, where the playing card is identifiedbased on the captured image from block 402. In some embodiments, adatabase of images of all possible playing cards may be maintained, suchthat the captured image can be compared to the images in the database toidentify the playing card. In other embodiments, the database mayinclude partial images or instructions on how to identify a playing cardfrom the features or characteristics on the face of the playing card. Invarious embodiments, one or more image recognition techniques may beemployed to identify the playing card. For example, the image can beanalyzed for a particular text, symbols, logos, icons, graphics, colors,numbers, or other identifying marks on the playing card. In variousembodiments, the playing card may be identified using a trainedartificial intelligence model. In some embodiments, the artificialintelligence model may be trained using a database of known playingcards.

Process 400 proceeds next to block 408, where a card mapping between theidentified playing card and the sleeve RFID tag value is generated. Insome embodiments, this mapping may be generated by storing relationshipor association between the playing card and the RFID tag value, such asin a table or other data structure. As mentioned above, the combinationof the playing card in the sleeve may be referred to as a card-sleevepair. Thus, the mapping of a card-sleeve pair includes an RFID tag valueof the sleeve and an identity of the playing card (e.g., a name, number,or type of the playing card).

Process 400 continues next to block 410, where the mapped card andsleeve are added to a mapped card deck. In various embodiments, themapped card deck includes a plurality of mappings between cards andtheir respective sleeves. Thus, the card deck may include a plurality ofcard-sleeve pairs, and the mapped card deck may include the mappinginformation for each of the plurality of card-sleeve pairs.

Process 400 proceeds to decision block 412, where a determination ismade whether to map another playing card with another sleeve. In someembodiments, this determination may be based on the number of playingcards, or card-sleeve pairs, in a card deck. For example, some carddecks may include 52 cards, while others may include 60 cards, which maydepend on the types of playing cards or the card game being played. Inother embodiments, this determination may be based on whether additionalimages, or sensor readings, indicate that the user is inserting anotherplaying card into another sleeve, which may continue until the userstops or inputs a stop command. If another playing card and sleeve areto be mapped together, process 400 returns to block 402 to captureadditional images of a next playing card and RFID tag values of a nextsleeve (at block 404). Otherwise, process 400 continues to block 414.

At block 414, the mapped card deck is stored. In some embodiments, themapped card deck is associated with a particular player and stored in adatabase with other mapped card decks for other players. In otherembodiments, a single mapped card deck is utilized for multiple players.

After block 414, process 400 terminates or otherwise returns to acalling process to perform other actions.

Although process 400 is described as mapping a playing card to a sleeveduring a single-stage process as the playing card is being inserted intothe sleeve, embodiments are not so limited. Rather, in some otherembodiments, a two-stage process may be employed. In this process, aplurality of playing cards may be inserted into a plurality ofcorresponding sleeves to make a plurality of card-sleeve pairs during afirst stage. Then each card-sleeve pair can then be positioned such thata camera can capture an image of the playing card in the sleeve and anRFID reader can capture an RFID tag value of an RFID tag affixed to thatsleeve during a second stage. This two-stage process may improveefficiency and synchronization because the user does not have to keepthe playing card and sleeve in a particular location as the playing cardis being inserted into the sleeve. Likewise, a user can manually insertthe playing cards into the sleeve, and an automated machine may be usedto systematically capture images and RFID tag values of each card-sleevepair.

Moreover, process 400 is described as mapping a playing card with asleeve, embodiments are not so limited. Rather, in some embodiments, theplaying card may be mapped to an RFID tag value of an RFID tag that isbuilt into, stuck onto, or otherwise affixed to the playing card itself,such as during the manufacturing process or at a later time. In thisexample, the images captured at block 402 may be of the playing cardjust prior to, as, or just after an RFID tag is affixed to the playingcard. Similar to what is described above, the capturing of the RFID tagvalue may be synchronized to the image capture. In some embodiments, thecapturing of the RFID tag value and the capturing of the images may besome time apart from one another, such as when the affixing is done inan automated assembly line process during manufacturing.

FIG. 5 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process 500 for mapping playing cards with sleeves thatinclude RFID tags in accordance with embodiments described herein.

Process 500 begins, after a start block, at block 502, where one or moreimages are captured of a playing card being inserted into a taggedsleeve, similar to what is described above in conjunction with block 402in FIG. 4.

Process 500 proceeds to block 504, where the playing card is identifiedbased on the captured image from block 502, similar to what is describedabove in conjunction with block 406 in FIG. 4.

Process 500 continues at block 506, where the RFID tag value is assignedwith information regarding the identified playing card. In someembodiments, the actual RFID tag identifier is modified to be the cardidentification information. In other embodiments, the RFID tagidentifier is modified to include the card identification informationalong with the identifier of the RFID tag. In yet other embodiments, arewritable field associated with the RFID tag is modified to include thecard identification information.

The card identification information that is written to the RFID tag is,or includes, the information that the RFID tag is to transmit whenresponding to an interrogation signal. In this way, the RFID tag of asleeve responds with the identification of the playing card that isinserted into that sleeve.

Process 500 proceeds next at decision block 508, where a determinationis made whether to map another card and sleeve. In various embodiments,this determination may be similar to what is described above inconjunction with decision block 412 in FIG. 4. If another card andsleeve are to be mapped, process 500 flows to block 502; otherwise,process 500 terminates or otherwise returning to a calling process toperform other actions.

FIG. 6 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process 600 for utilizing RFID tagged playing cards totrack card movement throughout a card game in accordance withembodiments described herein.

Process 600 begins, after a start block, at block 602, where a first setof RFID tag values are captured from each RFID tag affixed to cardsleeves in a deck of card-sleeve pairs. In various embodiments, an RFIDtransmitter sends an interrogation signal through the deck ofcard-sleeve pairs. The RFID tags affixed to the sleeves of eachcard-sleeve pair respond to the interrogation signal by sending theircorresponding RFID tag value. An RFID receiver captures these returnedRFID tag values. The RFID transmitter and the RFID receiver maycollectively be referred to as the RFID reader.

As described above, in some embodiments, the RFID transmitter and theRFID receiver may be configured to be in a same housing such that asingle RFID reader that is positioned adjacent to the deck of cards(e.g., under the deck of cards) and configured to send interrogationsignals and receive RFID tag values. In other embodiments, the RFIDtransmitter and the RFID receiver may be arranged and configured in twodistinct and separate housings. In this way, the RFID transmitter can bein one position adjacent to the deck of cards (e.g., next to a stackeddeck of cards) to send interrogation signals through the deck of cardsorthogonal to a direction in which the playing cards are stacked and theRFID receiver can be in a different position adjacent to the deck ofcards (e.g., under the deck of cards) to receive RFID tag values. TheRFID transmitter is adjacent to the deck of cards when the deck of cardsis within a threshold distance from the RFID transmitter to have itscorresponding RFID tag receive the interrogation signals and respondwith an RFID tag value. The RFID receiver is adjacent to the deck ofcards when the RFID receiver is within a threshold distance from thedeck of cards to receive the RFID tag values send from the correspondingRFID tags in the deck.

Process 600 proceeds to block 604, where a second set of RFID tag valuesare captured from each RFID tag affixed to card sleeves in a deck ofcard-sleeve pairs. In various embodiments, block 604 performsembodiments of block 602 to capture RFID tag values, but the second setof tag values are captured after a player has removed one or morecard-sleeve pairs from the deck.

In some embodiments, the second set of RFID tag values may be capturedin response to the RFID receiver capturing RFID tag values after aselected period of time of not capturing RFID tag values. For example,after the first set of tag values is captured at block 602, the playermay pick up the deck to remove a playing card. During this time, theRFID reader may be too far away from the deck in the players hand toenergize the RFID tags or capture RFID tag values from the tags in thedeck. Once the player replaces the deck adjacent to the RFID reader, thetags can once again receive interrogation signals and respond with RFIDtag values, which are again captured by the RFID reader as the secondset of RFID tag values.

Process 600 continues at block 606, where the first and second set oftag values are compared to determine which tag values are in the firstset of tag values but missing from the second set of tag values. Themissing tag values indicate that the corresponding tag is no longer inthe deck of cards and thus the corresponding card-sleeve pair for thattag was removed from the deck by the player.

Process 600 proceeds next to block 608, where the cards drawn from thedeck are identified based on a comparison of the missing tag values tothe card-sleeve pair mappings. As discussed above, the card-sleeve pairmappings correlate which playing card is inserted into which sleeve.Thus, the missing tag values can be compared to the card-sleeve pairmappings to identify the particular playing cards that were removed fromthe deck and are now in the player's hand.

In some embodiments, a database of card-sleeve pair mappings is accessedto obtain the identity of the playing card based on the correspondingmissing tag values, such as where the card-sleeve pair mappings includean association between a playing card's identification and an RFID tagvalue, as described herein and generated by process 400 in FIG. 4. Inother embodiments, the missing tag values include the identity of themissing cards. As described herein, such as in process 500 in FIG. 5,the tag values may be modified or written to include or be the playingcard's identification. In at least one such embodiment, a mappingdatabase does not have to be accessed because the tag value receivedfrom a RFID tag on a sleeve includes the information that identifies theparticular card inserted into that sleeve.

Process 600 continues next to block 610, where strategy information isgenerated based on the identified playing cards in the player's hand. Invarious embodiments, the strategy information is generated based onpreviously identified playing cards in the player's hand, previouslyidentified playing cards in another player's hand, playing cardsidentified as being played or discarded (e.g., at block 704 in FIG. 7),playing cards still in the deck, or some combination thereof.

The strategy information may include statistical information of theplayer winning the hand or game, statistical information of whichplaying card the player is likely to play next, information related togeneral game strategy based on the combination of the playing cards inthe player's hand, etc. In other embodiments, the strategy informationmay simply include a list of the playing cards in each player's hand.

Process 600 proceeds to block 612, where the strategy information isoutput to a user. For example, the strategy information may be displayedto a commentator for the commentator to discuss the current status ofthe game and various strategies and options available to the players. Inother embodiments, the strategy information may be overlaid onto a videostream of the players playing the game. In this way, audience memberscan see what playing cards are in the player's hands, as well as othertypes of strategy or statistical information.

After block 612, process 600 loops to block 602 to capture another setof RFID tag values and wait for a player to draw another playing cardfrom the deck.

FIG. 7 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing anotherembodiment of a process 700 for utilizing RFID tagged playing cards totrack card movement throughout a card game in accordance withembodiments described herein;

Process 700 begins, after a start block, at block 702, where images orRFID tag values are captured of one or more playing cards being playedor discarded during the playing of a game. In some embodiments, imagesor RFID tag values may be captured at selected times, at a selectedinterval, or in response to a game trigger. For example, an RFID tagreader may be positioned on the table where playing cards are played ordiscarded. The game trigger may occur when the RFID tag reader for thediscard pile or the played card area captures a new RFID tag value.Similarly, a camera may be positioned and configured to captured imagesof played or discarded cards. The images can be analyzed using imagerecognition techniques to identify that a playing card was played ordiscarded.

Process 700 proceeds to block 704, where the played or discarded cardsare identified based on the captured images or RFID tag values. Inembodiments where the played or discarded card is identified by animage, the image may be analyzed to identify the played or discardedcard, similar to block 406 in FIG. 4. In embodiments where the played ordiscarded card is identified by an RFID tag value, then the card may beidentified by comparing the RFID tag value to the card-sleeve pairmappings, similar to block 606 in FIG. 6.

Process 700 continues at block 706, where the strategy information isrevised based on the identified cards being played or discarded. Invarious embodiments, the revised strategy information is generatedsimilar to block 610 in FIG. 6 taking into account the playing cards ineach player's hand, the playing cards now played or discarded, theplaying cards still in the deck, or some combination thereof.

Process 700 proceeds next to block 708, where the revised strategyinformation is output to the user, similar to block 610 in FIG. 6.

After block 708, process 700 loops to block 702 continue to captureimages or RFID tag values of cards played or discarded during theplaying of the game

FIG. 8 illustrates a logical flow diagram generally showing oneembodiment of a process 800 for generating a list of playing cards in adeck. In various embodiments, process 800 may be performed by acomputing system that includes a camera to capture images of playingcards, a lighting source to illuminate playing cards for image capture,a first mechanism that physically moves playing cards from a stack ofcards into a position in front of the camera, a second mechanism thatphysically moves playing cards from in front of the camera to a newstack, and optionally an RFID reader.

Process 800 begins, after a start block, at block 802, where a playingcard is removed from a stack of a plurality of playing cards. In someembodiments, the first mechanism may pick up the playing card from thestack, such as by using a suction mechanism or mechanical fingers. Inother embodiments, the first mechanism may swipe the playing card awayfrom the stack, such as to remove the top or bottom playing card of thestack.

Process 800 proceeds to block 804, where the playing card is positionedin front of the camera. In various embodiments, the first mechanism mayinclude an arm, extension member, paddle, wheel, or other mechanicalmeans to move the playing card from the stack location to a position infront of the camera with the face of the playing card directed at thecamera. In some embodiments, the first mechanism may continue to hold onto the playing card while positioned in front of the camera. In otherembodiments, the first mechanism may release the playing card in frontof the camera and return to the stack of playing cards to remove anotherplaying card from the stack.

Process 800 continues at block 806, where an image of the playing cardis captured using the camera. The image is of the playing face of theplaying card, i.e., the informational side of the playing card and notthe generic back side of the playing card. In various embodiments, oneor more light sources may be positioned to illuminate the face of theplaying card to improve image quality.

In various embodiments, the camera captures the image of the playingcard when the first mechanism has positioned the playing card in frontof the camera. In some embodiments, one or more sensors may be used todetect if when the playing card is positioned in front of the camera. Inother embodiments, the camera may capture the image of the playing cardin response to a timing mechanism that is calibrated based on a timefrom when the first mechanism removes the playing card from the stack ofcards to when the playing card is positioned in front of the camera.

Process 800 proceeds to block 808, where the playing card is identifiedbased on the captured image. In various embodiments, block 808 mayemploy embodiments of block 406 in FIG. 4 to identify the playing card.

Process 800 continues next at block 810, where the computing systemutilizes an RFID scanner to scan for an RFID tag associated with theplaying card. In some embodiments, the playing card may have alreadybeen inserted into a sleeve that includes an RFID tag, as describedherein. In other embodiments, the system may include a mechanism thatautomatically inserts the playing card into a sleeve that includes anRFID tag. In yet other embodiments, the playing card may itself have anRFID tag embedded or attached to it.

Process 800 proceeds next to decision block 812, where a determinationis made whether an RFID tag is detected. In various embodiments, an RFIDtag is detected if a known or expected tag value is obtain during thescan. If an RFID tag is detected, process 800 flows to block 814;otherwise. Process 800 flows to block 816.

At block 814, the RFID tag value obtained during the scan is associatedwith the playing card. In various embodiments, block 814 may employembodiments of block 408 in FIG. 4 to generate a card mapping betweenthe identified card and the RFID tag value. After block 814, process 800continues at block 816.

In various embodiments, the RFID scanning features of process 800 may beoptional and may not be performed. According, block 810, decision block812, and block 814 may be optional and may not be performed, and process800 may flow from block 808 to block 816. In at least one suchembodiment, the computing system that performs process 800 may notinclude an RFID reader.

At block 816, the identity of the playing card is stored in a card list.This card list is an aggregated list of all playing cards in the stackof cards that have been identified. In some embodiments, where an RFIDtag value is associated with the card, this association or mapping isalso stored with the identity of the playing card in the card list,similar to block 410 in FIG. 4.

Process 800 continues next at block 818, where the playing card ispositioned in a new stack. In various embodiments, a second mechanism,such as an arm, extension member, paddle, wheel, or other mechanicalmeans, moves the playing card from in front of the camera to a locationof the new stack. In at least one embodiment, the second mechanism maypick up the playing card from in front of the camera, such as by usingsuction or mechanical finders. The second mechanism may then more theplaying card to the new stack and release the playing card on the newstack. In some embodiments, when the first mechanism holds the playingcard in front of the camera and does not release the playing card, thesecond mechanism may be the first mechanism, which then moves theplaying card to the new stack before releasing the playing card.

Process 800 proceeds to decision block 820, where a determination ismade whether there is another playing card in the stack of playingcards. In some embodiments, the stack of playing cards may include aknown number of cards, such as 60 or 100. The computing system maymaintain a counter for each playing card identified and stop when thecounter reaches the known number of playing cards. In other embodiments,a sensor may be utilized to determine when the stack of playing cards isempty.

If there is another playing card in the stack, then process 800 loops toblock 802 to remove a next playing card from the stack; otherwise,process 800 terminates or otherwise returns to a calling process. Insome embodiments, process 800 may output (not illustrated) theaggregated list of identified playing cards, such as via a displaydevice, printer device, or to another database or computing system.Process 800 can be utilized at card tournaments to create a list ofplaying cards in each player's deck; utilized by a card shop to identifyall playing cards in a player's collection; etc.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the functionalityprovided by the processes discussed above may be provided in alternativeways, such as being split among more processes or consolidated intofewer processes. Similarly, in some embodiments, the illustratedprocesses may provide more or less functionality than is described. Inaddition, while various operations may be illustrated as being performedin a particular manner or order (e.g., in serial or in parallel, orsynchronous or asynchronous), the operations may be performed in otherorders or manners in other embodiments. For example, with respect toprocess 800 in FIG. 8, an image of a first playing card may be capturedat block 806 in parallel with a second playing card being removed fromthe stack at block 802. Therefore, embodiments of the foregoingprocesses and methods may contain additional acts not shown in FIGS.4-8, may not contain all of the acts shown in FIG. 408, may perform actsshown in FIG. 408 in various orders, may combine acts, and may bemodified in various respects.

FIG. 9 shows a system diagram that describes one implementation ofcomputing systems for implementing embodiments described herein. System900 includes computing device 104, RFID reader 110, and camera 114.

As described herein, computing device 104 is a computing device that canperform functionality described herein for receiving image data and RFIDtag values to map playing cards and sleeve for each of a pluralitycard-sleeve pairs (or mapping playing cards to affixed RFID tag values),as well as to monitor the playing of a card game to determine whichplaying cards have been drawn into a player's hand, played, or otherwisediscarded based on the RFID tag values and the corresponding mappinginformation. Accordingly, various embodiments described herein may beimplemented in software, hardware, firmware, or in some combinationthereof. The computing device 104 includes memory 904, one or moreprocessors 922, display 924, input/output (I/O) interfaces 926, othercomputer-readable media 928, network interface 930, and other components932.

Processor 922 includes one or more processing devices that executecomputer instructions to perform actions, including at least someembodiments described herein. In various embodiments, the processor 922may include one or more central processing units (CPUs), programmablelogic, or other processing circuitry.

Memory 904 may include one or more various types of non-volatile and/orvolatile storage technologies. Examples of memory 904 include, but arenot limited to, flash memory, hard disk drives, optical drives,solid-state drives, various types of random access memory (RAM), varioustypes of read-only memory (ROM), other computer-readable storage media(also referred to as processor-readable storage media), or other memorytechnologies, or any combination thereof. Memory 904 may be utilized tostore information, including computer-readable instructions that areutilized by processor 922 to perform actions, including at least someembodiments described herein.

Memory 904 may have stored thereon various modules, such as card mappingmodule 908 and card tracking module 910. The card mapping module 908provides functionality to receive images of playing cards from thecamera 114 and RFID tag values from the RFID reader 110 and generate amapping between an identity of the card and the RFID tag value, asdescribed herein. In various embodiments, the card mapping module alsoincludes image processing and analysis functionality to perform imagerecognition techniques to identify the playing card from the capturedimages, as described herein. The card tracking module 910 providesfunctionality to track playing cards during the playing of a card gamebased on images of playing cards from the camera 114 and RFID tag valuesfrom the RFID reader 110, as described herein. In some embodiments, thecard tracking module 910 generates statistical information about theplaying of the card game based on what cards are in the players' hands,what cards have been played, etc.

Memory 904 may also store other programs 918 and other content 920.Other programs 918 may include operating systems, user applications, orother computer programs. Content 920 may include the mapping informationfor one or more card-sleeve pairs or one or more card-tag pairs or oneor more decks of cards, as described herein.

Display 924 is a display device capable of rendering statisticalinformation to a user, as generated by the card tracking module 910. Thedisplay 924 may be a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode, orother type of display device, and may include a touch sensitive screencapable of receiving inputs from a user's hand, stylus, or other object.

I/O interfaces 926 may include interfaces for the RFID reader 110, thecamera 114, or various other input or output devices, such as audiointerfaces, other video interfaces, USB interfaces, physical buttons,keyboards, or the like.

Other computer-readable media 928 may include other types of stationaryor removable computer-readable media, such as removable flash drives,external hard drives, or the like.

Network interfaces 930 are configured to communicate with othercomputing devices via a communication network (not illustrated). Forexample, in some embodiments, the computing device 104 may communicatewith a remote server to have the server perform the image recognitionfunctionality described herein to identify playing cards from images.Network interfaces 930 include transmitters and receivers (notillustrated) to send and receive data via one or more wired or wirelesscommunication networks.

The computing device 104 is also in communication with the RFID reader110 and the camera 114. The RFID reader 110 includes an RFID transmitter146 and an RFID receiver 148. The RFID transmitter transmitsinterrogation signals and the RFID receiver 148 receives RFID tag valuessent in response to the interrogation signals, as described herein andutilized by the card mapping module 908 and the card tracking module910. The camera 114 is configured to capture one or more images ofplaying cards to be utilized by the card mapping module 908, and in someembodiments the card tracking module 910. Although FIG. 9 illustrates asingle RFID reader 110 and a single camera 114, embodiments are not solimited. In some embodiments, the computing device 104 may be incommunication with a plurality of RFID readers 110, a plurality ofcamera 114 or some combination thereof.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. These and other changes can be made to theembodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, inthe following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limitthe claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specificationand the claims, but should be construed to include all possibleembodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosure.

1. A system, comprising: a radio-frequency-identification-tag reader; acamera; and a computing device that includes: a memory that isconfigured to store computing instructions and a plurality of mappingsfor a plurality of card-sleeve pairs; and a processor that is configuredto execute the computer instructions to: for each correspondingcard-sleeve pair of the plurality of card-sleeve pairs: obtain, from theradio-frequency-identification-tag reader, aradio-frequency-identification-tag value from aradio-frequency-identification tag affixed to a sleeve of thecorresponding card-sleeve pair; obtain, from the camera, an image of aplaying card of the corresponding card-sleeve pair; determine anidentification of the playing card based on an analysis of the image;generate a mapping between the identification of the playing card andthe radio-frequency-identification-tag value for the correspondingcard-sleeve pair; and store the generated mapping for the correspondingcard-sleeve pair in the memory.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor obtains the image by being configured to further execute thecomputer instructions to: capture, via the camera, the image of theplaying card while the playing card is being inserted into the sleeve tomake the corresponding card-sleeve pair.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the processor obtains the image by being configured to furtherexecute the computer instructions to: capture, via the camera, the imageof the playing card after the playing card has been inserted into thesleeve of the corresponding card-sleeve pair.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to further execute the computerinstructions to: synchronize the radio-frequency-identification-tagreader capturing the radio-frequency-identification-tag value and thecamera capturing the image.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to further execute the computer instructions to:trigger the radio-frequency-identification-tag reader to capture theradio-frequency-identification-tag value and trigger the camera tocapture the image within a time period.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to further execute the computerinstructions to: after the plurality of mappings are stored in thememory and during playing of a game using the plurality of card-sleevepairs: obtain, via the radio-frequency-identification-tag reader, afirst set of radio-frequency-identification-tag values associated with afirst set of card-sleeve pairs from the plurality of card-sleeve pairs;obtain, via the radio-frequency-identification-tag reader after at leastone card-sleeve pair is removed from the first set of card-sleeve pairs,a second set of radio-frequency-identification-tag values associatedwith a second set of card-sleeve pairs from the plurality of card-sleevepairs; determine a third set of radio-frequency-identification-tagvalues based on a comparison between the first set and the second set ofradio-frequency-identification-tag values; and utilize the third set ofradio-frequency-identification-tag values and the plurality of mappingsstored in the memory to determine an identification of at least oneplaying card of the at least one card-sleeve pair removed from the firstset of card-sleeve pairs.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein theprocessor is configured to further execute the computer instructions to:generate strategy information for the game based on the identificationof the at least one playing card.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to further execute the computer instructions to:obtain, via the radio-frequency-identification-tag reader,radio-frequency-identification-tag values of a deck of card-sleeve pairsbefore and after at least one card-sleeve pair is removed from the deckduring a card game; identify at least one playing card of the at leastone card-sleeve pair based on a comparison between theradio-frequency-identification-tag values of the deck before and afterthe at least one card-sleeve pair is removed from the deck and theplurality of mappings; and generate strategy information for the cardgame based on the at least one identified playing card.
 9. A method,comprising: capturing, via a radio-frequency-identification-tag readerduring playing of a card game, a first set ofradio-frequency-identification-tag values from a first set ofradio-frequency-identification tags affixed to a first set ofcard-sleeve pairs from a card deck; capturing, via theradio-frequency-identification-tag reader after at least one card-sleevepair is removed from the first set of card-sleeve pairs during playingof the card game, a second set of radio-frequency-identification-tagvalues from a second set of radio-frequency-identification tags affixedto a second set of card-sleeve pairs from the card deck; determining aset of missing radio-frequency-identification-tag values in the secondset of radio-frequency-identification-tag values based on a comparisonbetween the first set of radio-frequency-identification-tag values andthe second set of radio-frequency-identification-tag values; anddetermining an identity of at least one playing card associated with theat least one card-sleeve pair removed during playing of the card gamebased on a query of a mapping of radio-frequency-identification-tagvalues to card identities for the set of missingradio-frequency-identification-tag values.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: generating strategy information for the card gamebased on the at least one identified playing card.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: capturing, via theradio-frequency-identification-tag reader after at least one othercard-sleeve pair is removed from the second set of card-sleeve pairsduring playing of the card game, a third set ofradio-frequency-identification-tag values from a third set ofradio-frequency-identification tags affixed to a third set ofcard-sleeve pairs from the card deck; determining another set of missingradio-frequency-identification-tag values in the third set ofradio-frequency-identification-tag values based on a comparison betweenthe second set of radio-frequency-identification-tag values and thethird set of radio-frequency-identification-tag values; determine anidentity of at least one other playing card associated with the at leastone other card-sleeve pair removed during playing of the card game basedon another query of the mapping of radio-frequency-identification-tagvalues to card identities for the other missing set ofradio-frequency-identification-tag values; and modifying the strategyinformation for the card game based on the at least one other identifiedplaying card.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising: prior toplaying the card game: obtaining, from theradio-frequency-identification-tag reader and for each correspondingcard-sleeve pair in the card deck, a correspondingradio-frequency-identification-tag value from a correspondingradio-frequency-identification tag affixed to a corresponding sleeve forthe corresponding card-sleeve pair; obtaining, from a camera and foreach corresponding card-sleeve pair in the card deck, a correspondingimage of a corresponding playing card for the corresponding card-sleevepair; determining a corresponding identity of the corresponding playingcard for each corresponding card-sleeve pair based on an analysis of thecorresponding image for the corresponding card-sleeve pair; generatingthe mapping of radio-frequency-identification-tag values to cardidentities by correlating the corresponding identity of thecorresponding playing card and the correspondingradio-frequency-identification-tag value for each correspondingcard-sleeve pair; and storing the generated mapping.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein obtaining the corresponding image further comprises:capturing, via the camera, the corresponding image of the correspondingplaying card while the corresponding playing card is being inserted intothe corresponding sleeve to make the corresponding card-sleeve pair. 14.The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining the corresponding imagefurther comprises: capturing, via the camera, the corresponding image ofthe corresponding playing card after the corresponding playing card hasbeen inserted into the corresponding sleeve of the correspondingcard-sleeve pair.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:synchronizing the radio-frequency-identification-tag reader capturingthe corresponding radio-frequency-identification-tag value for thecorresponding card-sleeve pair with the camera capturing thecorresponding image for the corresponding card-sleeve pair.
 16. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: triggering theradio-frequency-identification-tag reader to capture the correspondingradio-frequency-identification-tag value for the correspondingcard-sleeve pair and triggering the camera to capture the correspondingimage for the corresponding card-sleeve pair within a time period.
 17. Acomputing device, comprising: a memory that stores computinginstructions and a plurality of mappings for a plurality of card-sleevepairs of card deck for a card game; and a processor that executes thecomputer instructions to: prior to playing the card game: obtain aradio-frequency-identification-tag value associated with a sleeve foreach corresponding card-sleeve pair; obtain an image of a playing cardfor each corresponding card-sleeve pair; analyze the image to identifythe playing card for each corresponding card-sleeve pair; and store theplurality of mappings in the memory with each mapping for eachcorresponding card-sleeve pair includes a correlation between theidentity of the playing card and the radio-frequency-identification-tagvalue for the corresponding card-sleeve pair; and during playing of thecard game: obtain radio-frequency-identification-tag values ofcard-sleeve pairs before and after at least one card-sleeve pair isremoved from the card deck; and identify at least one playing card ofthe at least one card-sleeve pair based on a comparison between theradio-frequency-identification-tag values of the card deck before andafter the at least one card-sleeve pair is removed from the card deckand the plurality of mappings.
 18. The computing device of claim 17,wherein the processor further executes the computer instructions to:instruct a radio-frequency-identification-tag reader to capture theradio-frequency-identification-tag value within a time period of when acamera captures the image.
 19. The computing device of claim 17, whereinthe processor further executes the computer instructions to: generatestrategy information for the card game based on the identity of the atleast one playing card.
 20. The computing device of claim 19, whereinthe processor further executes the computer instructions to: obtainadditional radio-frequency-identification-tag values of card-sleevepairs before and after at least one other card-sleeve pair is removedfrom the card deck; identify at least one other playing card of the atleast one other card-sleeve pair based on a comparison between theadditional radio-frequency-identification-tag values of the card deckbefore and after the at least one other card-sleeve pair is removed fromthe card deck and the plurality of mappings; and modify the strategyinformation for the card game based on the identity of the at least oneother playing card.